Abreu puts Hurricane Irma out of mind, becomes sixth White Sox to hit for cycle
Jose Abreu knows how to deal with adversity.
The Chicago White Sox's first baseman said he was up most of the night Friday, thanks to Hurricane Irma.
His son, Dariel, and other family are in Abreu's native Cuba.
"They are good," Abreu said through Sox interpreter Billy Russo. "Thank God they are good. They are safe. The last couple of hours were very stressful for me. I actually couldn't sleep last night because from 3-5 a.m., the hurricane was passing through my hometown (Mal Tiempo) in Cuba.
"My grandmother and my kid are there. But I could speak with them and they are OK. Now I'm just waiting for the hurricane to touch base in Miami."
Abreu's wife and mother are in Miami, where they are going to ride out the storm.
"I built a house like a fort just to be aware of that hurricane, that season," Abreu said. "We all know that Miami is a very common place for a hurricane, but they are good and safe now. They are under protection."
Abreu was in the lineup Saturday night in the Sox's 13-1 interleague romp over the San Francisco Giants at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Even though he was obviously tired and is far from fleet, Abreu became just the sixth player in franchise history to hit for the cycle.
"It was my first time, and it's something wonderful," he said. "To have the opportunity to hit for the cycle here, in Chicago, for this organization, is something wonderful."
Abreu channeled the lack of sleep and stress over the storm into a memorable night for himself, his family and the White Sox organization. Jose Valentin had the last cycle for the Sox, on April 27, 2000.
"Even though the hurricane is passing through Miami and my wife is there with my family, I think that what I did today is something important for them, too," Abreu said. "It's a little bit of a joy for them in this moment. I've been awake since 3 this morning just thinking about all the things that are happening in Cuba with the hurricane and now in Miami.
"But you know what, all those things are giving me more strength. It gave me strength for tonight's game. I feel good now and I'm just hoping the hurricane can pass through and my family can be OK."
Abreu homered in the first inning, doubled in the third, singled in the seventh and tripled on an 0-2 pitch in the ninth after fouling a ball off his left shin.
He almost fell down while running between second and third base on the triple.
"My legs weren't responding," Abreu said. "But I'm a warrior. I have to fight through that and I did it. I'm a warrior."
Abreu's first two hits were off San Francisco starter Jeff Samardzija, who pitched for the White Sox in 2015.
"He's always been an amazing hitter," Samardzija said. "I got to see it first-hand. Dude was the first guy in the cage every day, first guy at the park. He takes it personally, loves to play the game. I respect Abreu up there amongst some other guys in this league. He works really hard, keeps his head down and plays hard."